This kind of dereliction of duty in the hospital sector is
particularly shocking since it really is (or can quickly become) a matter of
life and death, and also because when someone is ill in hospital we expect that
people around them, and most particularly nursing staff, will be caring and
compassionate.

Yet this kind of breakdown in work ethic and respect for
persons is not restricted to the healthcare environment. It can occur anywhere and
is something that I've experienced in my past, working in an office environment
for a large organisation.

Sarah Montague on Radio 4’s Today programme interviewed a
number of individuals who work, or used to work, in the NHS in order to try and
find out why a situation such as that
in Mid Staffordshire might occur. The people she interviewed talked overwhelmingly
about employees who didn’t care and senior management who failed to listen; a
culture in which complaints were ignored and in which whistle blowing by staff
was met by bullying, coercion and the threat of dismissal; a culture in which
underperformance was not challenged and in which underperformers were moved
sideways rather than disciplined. The net result: an environment in which the
best performers leave and the worst performers stay, and in which people behave
exactly how they please without check. A veritable recipe for disaster.

All of this I recognise from my past. The environment that I
experienced was one where the senior managers (who had had been in place for
years) were interested only in keeping complaints to a minimum and making sure
that their own positions were safe. They ignored internal complaints about
underperformance and unacceptable workplace behaviour. This meant that people simply
suited themselves—turning up late for work, failing to do their jobs properly,
and being (sometimes shockingly) rude to their managers and those with whom
they worked. When the head of department retired, a new head was hired who
recognised all of these problems and set out to change them. She really rocked
the boat and (surprise, surprise) was fired (or ‘asked to leave’) in less than
a year.

I found it incredible that this kind of situation could
exist and be allowed to continue, and I left the organisation as quickly as I could.
My experience was of course far less shocking than the situation at Mid Staffordshire.
For starters, people didn’t die as a result. But nonetheless, the situation
that I experienced was harmful to those it touched and unacceptable. I also find
it interesting, from a purely intellectual point of view, how people—some
people—will behave in the absence of a strong, engaged and moral leadership, no
matter what the sector.